Not sure how to talk about your age in Spanish? Let’s see… If I ask you “¿Cuántos años tienes?“, what would you reply?
If you said “soy x años”, using “ser”, trying to follow the structure in English, then stay here because that’s a common mistake.
In this entry you’ll learn how to talk about your age in Spanish. This article is part of our podcast Speaking Spanish for Beginners, available on all major listening apps.
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Don’t You Use “Ser” (To Be) For Age?
Well, no. In Spanish we use the verb “tener” to talk about age. We perceive age as something you possess. Thus, we use “tener” for expressing this idea.
Conjugation of verb “tener”
Yo tengo
Tú tienes
Él/ella/usted tiene
Nosotros(as) tenemos
Ustedes/ellos/ellas tienen
That’s why If you want to say, “I’m 32 years old” you have to say “yo tengo 32 años“
Asking People about Their Age in Spanish
The question for asking about somebody’s age is the following:
¿Cuántos años tienes (tú)? (How old are you?).
Another variation of this question is ¿Qué edad tienes (tú)?
Let’s practice
In the episode above, you can listen to a practice dialogue for Spanish Beginners. Try to listen by yourself without the transcript.
After you have done that, here you can see what was said in the audio and check if you understood most of it.
Dialogue Transcript
| Spanish (Original) | English (Translation) |
|---|---|
| Marco: Jessica, ¿cuántos años tienes? | Marco: Jessica, how old are you? |
| Jessica: Tengo 29 años, ¿y tú, Marco? ¿Qué edad tienes? | Jessica: I’m 29 years old. And you, Marco? How old are you? |
| Marco: Tengo 28 años. ¿y tú hermana? ¿Cuántos años tiene tu hermana? | Marco: I’m 28 years old. And your sister? How old is your sister? |
| Jessica: Mi hermana tiene 20. Ella es más joven. ¿y tu amigo, José? ¿Cuántos años tiene tu amigo? | Jessica: My sister is 20. She’s younger. And your friend, José? How old is your friend? |
| Marco: Mi amigo tiene 40 años. Él es un poco más viejo. | Marco: My friend is 40 years old. He’s a bit older. |
More Practice!
In this quiz, you’ll hear someone say different ages in Spanish.
Your task? Listen carefully and choose the correct option from the answers provided.
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Marco Fierro — Spanish G.O.A.T. Maestro
¡Hola! I’m an enthusiastic Spanish teacher passionate about making my language accessible to YOU.
When I’m not teaching, I love traveling and rocking out on my electric guitar.
Let’s have fun learning ESPAÑOL together. ¡Vamos!
